Exploring a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Perhaps one of the biggest challenges of having an entire galaxy to explore is figuring out where to start! With limitless stars ahead, each with the potential for multiple worlds to investigate, the task of picking a destination can be daunting to say the least. The exploration system presented in this section gives your party of galactic adventurers a wide range of tools to seek out new worlds.

GALAXY EXPLORATION

"There are so many! Do they each have a system of planets?"
"Most of them."
"Has anyone been to them all?"
"Not likely."
"I wanna be the first one to see them all..."
— Anakin Skywalker & Qui-Gon Jinn

Hyperspace has been accessible to many sentient species for millennia, but much of the phenomena remains poorly understood. The main hyperspace lanes have been charted over centuries and marked with navigational hyperspace beacons. As more of the galaxy was mapped, more direct hyperspace routes were discovered. Still, much of the galaxy is not well connected to the main hyperlanes and is poorly charted, leaving countless planets unmapped or unexplored.

Astrogation is key to exploring the galaxy. Throughout galactic history, cartographers and scouts traveled between star systems in search of more reliable and safer hyperspace routes free of dangerous obstacles. Traveling beyond those hyperspace routes is possible but dangerous: large objects create mass shadows, and traveling too close or through stellar bodies like stars or black holes can destroy a ship. Advanced navcomputers, skilled astrogators, or Force-sensitive pathfinders are needed to carefully guide ships through hyperspace safely.

If you want to find and travel to a known destination, even one unfamiliar to you, you could consult hyperlane maps or programmed astromech droids. You might even plan specific routes to gain some aid toward navigating to that system. But what about destinations, especially those in the poorly explored reaches of the galaxy, about which little is known? Maybe you’ve found some brief reference to a system on a datapad, heard rumors about a mysterious space station, or uncovered some old but faulty star chart. For such obscure destinations, you can attempt to narrow your search by using the following downtime activity.

Locate Galactic Destination (Downtime Activity)

Many systems are hard to find, away from primary hyperspace routes or lost to the annals of time. This activity allows a character to pin down the galactic location of a planet or system, and find a stable hyperspace route to it.

Resources

A character needs something on which to base their research: an outdated star chart, an ancient Wayfinder, even a detailed rumor from an old starpilot. They will also need access to a computer capable of making the complex calculations to figure hyperspace routes. From there, they can spend time conducting research and reconnaissance, spending one workweek and at least 500 cr on probes, access to star charts, and other expenses. Spending more money increases your chances of finding a quality hyperroute, as shown in Resolution.

Resolution

The character declares the system, planet, or galactic body they wish to find. After one workweek, the character makes an Intelligence (Piloting) check, with a +1 bonus per 1,000 cr spent beyond the initial 500 cr, up to a maximum bonus of +5. The character then consults the Locate Galactic Destination Roll Modifier table below.

Locate Galactic Destination Roll Modifier

Ability Check DC	d100 Roll Modifier
10	+5
15	+10
20	+15
25	+20
30	+25

The d100 Roll Modifier is added to the percentile dice rolled for the Locate Galactic Destination Results table, which is discussed below.

SYSTEM EXPLORATION

Once you’ve located and successfully traveled to an unfamiliar system, your next step is learning what exactly is in that system—no easy task, considering it may be hundreds of millions of miles across. Entering the system might give you some fundamental information about what’s present there, and you might have learned some particulars already through your initial search. To learn more about an unknown system, many explorers rely on the activities and starship systems detailed below. See pages 394–395 of the Core Rulebook for brief summaries about various types of astronomical objects you might encounter.

Map Star System (Downtime Activity)

By moving through a system and making multiple sensor sweeps, you search for any sign of large mass shadows in the system and learn the location of various planets and other astronomical bodies.

You spend the day exploring large swaths of a system and making numerous sensor sweeps to search for signs of large mass shadows. At the end of the day, attempt a Wisdom (Scan) check with a DC based on the level of sensors installed in your starship, referring to the chart below. A ship with Resilient Sensors has advantage on this check.

Sensor Array Level	Scan DC
Makeshift	30
Mk I	25
Mk II	20
Mk III	15
Mk IV	10
Mk V	5

On success, at the end of the you are able to pinpoint 1d3 mass shadows (of those you haven’t yet discovered, and at the GM’s discretion). If your ship is equipped with a Scanner, add the highest grade of equipped Scanner to this roll. You are then able to perform the celestial analysis downtime activity and travel to those locations. Only one character per starship can perform this downtime activity each day.

Celestial Analysis (Downtime Activity)

You use a starship’s computer to analyze mass shadow data and determine the nature of one or more celestial bodies.

You spend the day analyzing pinpointed mass shadows to identify the type of astronomical objects at their core. The number of mass shadows you can analyze in one day depends on the grade of data core the starship has equipped: 1 mass shadow for a Data Core Mk. I, 2 mass shadows for a Mk. II, and so on. A makeshift data core has insufficient sophistication to perform this activity.

At the end of the day, attempt a separate DC 14 Intelligence (Data) check for each astronomical object you attempt to identify. You gain a bonus to this check equal to the highest grade Central Computer equipped on your starship.

On each success, you determine whether the gravity well is caused by a gas giant, a terrestrial world, a large asteroid, a space station, or an irregular world (including those science fantasy constructions that stretch the concept of a world, per the GM’s discretion). If your result exceeds the DC by 5 or more, you also learn the number of large satellites (such as moons) the astronomical object has, if any.

EXPLORATION FROM ORBIT

While you can ascertain the location and general type of astronomical objects from a distance, finding out more generally requires traveling to and orbiting the body. While in orbit, you can use your starship’s sensors to determine the world’s atmosphere, primary biomes, and gravity. This process typically takes ten minutes and requires a successful DC 12 Wisdom (sensors) check. A number of factors can increase or decrease that DC as the GM sees fit: unusual magnetic fields, atmospheric density, or the presence of spatial anomalies or planetary defense scramblers.

Keep in mind that such scans must be performed outside of combat and that certain worlds’ inhabitants will not permit offworlders to peer down from orbit indefinitely—or at all.

While getting general information about a world can be crucial, more information can be gained from a full scan and analysis of the data obtained. You can use the world analysis downtime activity to attempt a more thorough scan, or you can map out a portion of a world’s geography using the world mapping downtime activity.

World Exploration Activities

A group of PCs gains a number of world exploration activities per day based on the speed of the slowest member of the group, as shown on the table below. During the course of the day, the PCs can use their world exploration activities to either travel or perform recon.

Inoculate

When headed into an environment you know to be infectious, such as a settlement stricken by a plague or a toxic jungle, you can spend your downtime taking preventative measures.

Specify a single disease or poison other than radiation or radiation sickness. You spend one workday researching preventive treatments for that affliction. At the end of the day, designate up to six willing or unconscious creatures you can touch. Attempt an Intelligence (Bioanalysis Kit) check for each of these creatures; the DC is 3 higher than the DC save required to contract the sickness. Each creature must choose whether or not to accept your treatment before learning the result of this check. This activity requires access to a bioanlysis kit.

On a success, the designated creatures gains a +4 bonus to saving throws against exposure to the specified affliction. This doesn’t apply to creatures currently affected by that affliction, and doesn’t stack with bonuses from other consumable medical devices. On a failure, the designated creature takes a –2 penalty to saves against initial exposure to the specified affliction. These effects end after 1 week.

Maintain Readiness

You keep a watchful eye on your surroundings, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

You take up a sentry position or make regular patrols of the area. If this downtime activity is interrupted by combat, you gain a +2 bonus to the initiative check for that combat. This downtime activity doesn’t provide any benefit if you or your allies intentionally seek out combat.

Secure Area

You secure a perimeter and set up camp for subsequent operations by shoring up weak positions, clearing out sight lines to vulnerable positions, and the like.

You spend one workday securing a 50-foot-by-50-foot area over which you and your allies have control. As part of this activity, you can attempt Demolitions Kit checks to arm up to eight explosives that you own. You can set the triggering methods for these detonators to be rudimentary trip wires or pressure plates; in this case, each explosive requires its own detonator. The DC of Perception checks to notice these explosives is equal to the result of your Demolitions Kit checks to arm them.

On the following day, you and your allies gain a +2 bonus to initiative and Wisdom (Perception) checks in the secured area.

Random Encounters

Whenever PCs explore, there’s a chance for a random encounter; this chance is based on the relative population density of an area, with some types of terrain tending to be denser than others. Each time the PCs travel or recon, roll a d20. On a roll equal to or higher than the encounter DC listed in the world exploration Table (see below), a random encounter occurs. The GM can adjust these numbers based on circumstance.

The GM can use the inhabitants and adventure hooks tables in the corresponding biome section to inspire a random encounter. Remember that encounters can be far more than combat with wandering monsters; there are plenty of opportunities for roleplaying and social encounters, especially those that tie into and expand on a world’s adventure hooks or various other attributes.

World Exploration

Biome	Required Activities	Encounter DC
Aquatic	1*	14
Arctic	2	17
Desert	2	17
Forest	3	12
Junk	2	12
Marsh	2	12
Mountain	2	16
Plains	1	16
Space	1*	17
Subterranean	2	16
Urban	1	10
Volcanic	3	15
Weird	Varies	14

*Assumes a fly (airborne or space) or swim (aquatic) speed; GM might require certain equipment and/or might increase the required activities

Switching out of World Exploration

When the PCs face a random encounter or discover an adventuring site while engaged in world exploration, these encounters typically do not cost the PCs an exploration activity to tackle, assuming that they occur over several minutes rather than hours. However, if the PCs decide to explore a vast technological ruin, engage in lengthy diplomacy with locals, or get involved in a protracted chase with raiders, the GM might deduct a world exploration activity for the time spent.

Building Worlds

Creating an entire world from scratch can be a daunting task, but this chapter provides easy steps to help you quickly generate nigh-infinite worlds. Whether you’re a player whipping up a home planet for your new character or a GM crafting worlds for other players to explore, simply follow the steps below—tweaking the results as desired—to craft your own worlds!

In the first three steps of creating a planet, you’ll determine your world’s basic physical characteristics, which can inform its inhabitants and provide potential adventure hooks. In Step 4, you’ll determine your world’s various cultural attributes, which flesh out a world’s character and can provide myriad possibilities for adventure. In the final step, you’ll add some finishing touches, perhaps including a few settlements and NPCs using their respective toolboxes on the following pages.

By randomly determining your world’s physical and cultural attributes as well as blending their resultant inhabitants and adventure hooks, you can create virtually limitless arrays of worlds to explore. Keep in mind that any seemingly conflicting attributes you generate with this process are rich opportunities for storytelling: does your asteroid have a thick atmosphere, a predominantly aquatic biome, and a high level of Force affinity? Perhaps it’s a tiny ocean world with an icy shell, hurtling through space and carrying a society of miniature Force-wielding creatures with it.

Step 4: Cultural Attributes

Besides its basic physical features, a world is heavily influenced by the presence—or absence—of various cultural influences. Each of the following attributes has a corresponding section in this book that provides in-depth details about its impact on a world as well as inspiration, adventure hooks, GM tools, and player options related to various levels of that attribute.

Unity: Roll 1d6 to determine whether this world is a low unity (1–2), medium unity (3–4), or high unity (5–6).

Alignment: First, roll 1d6 to determine whether the world is predominantly chaotic (1–2), neutral (3–4), or lawful (5–6). Then roll 1d6 to determine whether the world is predominantly Dark (1–2), Balanced (3–4), or Light(5–6). For example, rolling 2 and then 6 would result in a Chaotic Light world. Two results of 3 or 4 mean the world is predominantly Neutral Balanced.

Force Affinity: Roll 1d6 to determine whether this world has low Force affinity(1–2), medium Force affinity (3–4), or high Force affinity (5–6).

Technology:: Roll 1d6 to determine whether this world is low technology (1–2), medium technology (3–4), or high technology (5–6).

Step 5: Finishing Touches

Each biome and cultural attribute is supported in this book’s other sections, but there are more ways you can add enriching details to your new world.

Adventure Hooks: With just a couple biomes and the cultural attributes set for your world, you have plenty of adventure hooks to randomly roll or choose from! Better yet, you can generate nigh-infinite ideas by randomly rolling adventure hooks from different tables and combining them in interesting ways. These ideas aren’t just for GMs looking to challenge PCs, either. Other players might use such hooks to flesh out their background and explain how they got into adventuring—or what they left their home world to escape.

NPCs: While you likely don’t want to detail every sapient individual on a world, it can be helpful to have a few compelling NPCs to serve as points of contact, villains, companions, and the like. You could determine how an NPC might relate to some or all of the PCs.

Settlements: As with NPCs, you likely want to detail a few major settlements in each world to serve as a landing site or home base. The Settlement Toolbox can help you generate rich locations with quirks and challenges to shape a settlement’s character. There’s also a table featuring a bevy of potential locations —roll a few times to see which locations are of particular prominence in a settlement, and you’ll know a lot more about the people who live there.

Other Features: Feel free to add any features not covered by this system to your world, its places, or its people.

Using the Biomes Guide

Populating new

Aquatic Biomes

Even a world with moderate, Earth-like climates might be a maze of thrashing vortexes below the water’s surface, and a world plagued by tempestuous atmospheric storms might have a refuge of calm in the water’s depths. Beneath the surface lie vibrant reefs where magnetic corals arrange themselves in geometric lattices and deep sea trenches cloaked in an icy darkness that seeps into one’s bones. Visitors to an aquatic biome might drift peacefully on a glittering pink lake that swallows them up in its vast expanse or suddenly find themselves whisked away by a waterfall flowing up into the atmosphere.

On worlds with blue skies and clear waters, oceans appear to be blue, but on worlds where the sky is green or the water is mineral-rich, aquatic environments take on hues as varied as the colors on the light spectrum. These environments aren’t limited to just water, either. Explorers might strain to swim through an amber lake as viscous as honey, or they might sweat nervously while navigating a minisub through a series of interconnected, bubbling acid pools. Composition notwithstanding, aquatic terrains are generally more energy intensive to travel through compared to terrestrial environments because water is denser than air. The heightened drag in an aquatic biome means that vehicles must be sleekly constructed for efficiency, and creatures without a swim speed benefit greatly from the aid of mechanical, mounted, or other means of propulsion.

Civilizations in aquatic biomes might be organized in floating towns, undersea bubble cities, or even amphibious societies that split their time between land and sea. Some worlds might have entire nations built on ships or on the backs of gargantuan sea creatures. Regardless of how civilizations formed in aquatic biomes, they commonly rely on a combination of hunting, foraging, and aquaculture to sustain their populations. Water shapes how these populations grow and evolve, playing a major role in day-to-day life.

Perception works differently underwater than it does on land, requiring some adjustment for first-time visitors. Threat detection might be impacted by turbulent water that limits visibility or by the liquid environment’s amplification and distortion of sound vibrations. Sensory inputs of smell and taste blend together and are challenging to parse for non-aquatic species. This type of environment’s inhabitants require adaptations—whether evolutionary or technological—to sustain life.

While and technology make underwater life and exploration possible for non-aquatic species, it isn’t always comfortable. Deep-sea ventures risk water pressure and density that could crush ill-equipped adventurers, and depleted air supplies spell disaster for parties on extended excursions. Drowning is a constant danger, and combat capabilities become limited without equipment designed or modified for aquatic combat.

Aquatic Toolbox

Encounters

d20	Encounter
1	AcklaySnV
2	AiwhaSnV
3	Deep ScionMPMM
4	DragonsnakeSnV
5	GhestSnV
6	Giant CrabMM
7	Firaxan Shark, AncientVH
8	HssissSnV
9	Firaxan Shark, AdultVH
10	Colo Claw FishDR
11	DevilsquidVH
12	MottSnV
13	Opee Sea KillerSnV
14	Poachers, adaptedDFF
15	Porg SwarmSnV
16	Sando Aqua MonsterSnV
17	ScrangeSnV
18	SteepSnV
19	Thevaxan MarauderSnV
20	Troopers, adaptedSnV

Aquatic Adaptations

Creatures in aquatic habitats invariably tolerate water well. Consider the following options when adapting monsters to aquatic biomes.

Universal Adaptations. Roll 1d4 and modify your aquatic creature's stat block according to the table below.

Combat Adaptations. Consider adding these adaptations to make aquatic creatures. Roll 1d6 and consult the table below. This may adjust the creature's CR.

Aquatic Adventure Hooks

Arctic Biomes

As distant sunlight slants over the horizon on long summer days, or an aurora’s first prismatic hues splash across the skies, even those who can’t bear the cold may forget their discomfort momentarily. On stranger worlds, varied atmospheric gasses may contribute to a rainbow of colors across the sky, within the frigid seas, and or even imbued in the snow itself.

Adventurers exploring such mesmerizing, uninhabitable areas may trek across crystalline frozen seas, pilot small crafts through ice floes in frigid waters, climb stark cliffs of ice and rock, or lower each other down ominous, turquoise crevasses in search of lost secrets or new scientific discoveries. Though they may experience periods of solitude, adventurers will find the arctic is far from empty, encountering a variety of cold-weather creatures, secret bandit hideouts on drifting bergs, and thriving settlements.

If adventurers hail from other biomes, the arctic may seem monotonous at first glance: ice and more ice. But even these frozen realms have abundant opportunities for rich biodiversity, and an endless variety of forces can shape an alien arctic region. Is the ice actually frozen water, or is it made of something else entirely? How might especially distant suns or multiple moons change the periods of darkness and light? How long are the seasons, and how does the landscape transform from one to the next? An arctic zone could consist of a vast landmass surrounded by fluctuating sea ice, or it might have little land at all, instead comprised mostly of frigid water and dark, crashing seas dotted with immense icebergs. Towering snowy peaks, rocky remote islands, blue-green ice caves, and inexorably advancing glaciers provide ample domain for a wide variety of life.

On alien worlds, icy flora and fungi might adapt enough to flourish and grow tall: massive bioluminescent mushrooms or thin, icy trees stand stark against the sky, providing faint light and brittle shelter—or masking unknown dangers. Even if ice isn’t a fertile landscape for flora, plenty of animal life exists in cold climes, from smaller amphibious birds and mammals to imposing predators, both on land and sea.

Consider the impact a cold, stark climate might have on life-forms, as well as the ways they could shape their territory in return. In a land where high caloric intake, hibernation, and occasional migration are essential for survival, what creatures might have evolved to roam the cold, dark expanse of an alien arctic region?

As for sentient inhabitants, those not adapted to or prepared for the realities of cold weather and limited light won’t last long in these regions. The long, dark winters and impossibly short growing seasons (if tundra suitable for agriculture exists at all) necessitate innovations for sustenance, whether inhabitants rely on hunting and gathering or manage to cultivate sheltered crops and livestock through greenhouses and heated enclosures. Some worlds may have mineral exports from ocean or permafrost mining that enable arctic residents to rely on agricultural imports. Salvaged wrecks or mining operations can provide the metal components to construct cities on land or thick ice—or large icebreaker ships could become permanent sailing shelters for small communities, miniature nations in their own right. Less nomadic groups may turn to icy caves for natural shelter, as lumber is unlikely to be an option for construction. Larger communities might build sprawling domed settlements on (or in) a glacier where innovative technologies provide light and heat that enables them to thrive, constructing sparkling towers of never-melting ice visible across the tundra for miles.

Cultures that form around periods of weather-necessitated isolation or near-hibernation may be famous for the art and music they create while sequestered from the elements, or the scientific advances they make in icy labs and observatories. Reclusive arctic cities may be home to renowned observatories, theaters, or esteemed flight schools; elite pilots looking to test their skills against strong winds and slippery landings need look no further. With large predators and extreme weather, arctic regions are not considered particularly inviting or hospitable places for some sentient species, but hardy folk have found ways to adapt and thrive even in the bleakest environments.

Examples

Many arctic worlds are isolated and sparsely populated, hosting few settlements. Hoth was considered deserted enough for the Rebel Alliance to build their base there to remain hidden from the Empire. The Jedi Order considered frosty Ilum to be a sacred world, filled with precious kyber crystals. Dai Bendu monks likewise built a monastery on frigid Kijimi, until it was abandoned and became an anarchic pirate haven.

Others have their own sapient species and civilizations. Orto Plutonia is the homeworld of the Talz, who live a technology simple hunting and gathering lifestyle. The Chiss homeworld of Csilla was already ice-locked before a disaster affected its sun, cooling the world even further.

Arctic Toolbox

Arctic Adaptations

Anything living in arctic environs must be well-adapted to the cold. Wintry conditions are often associated with darkness, distant or dim suns providing both low heat and light, requiring creatures to have keen eyesight. Some species evolve unique tools to hunt on the tundra, or unusual biologies to stay warm.

Universal Adaptations. Roll 1d2 and modify your arctic creature's stat block according to the table below.

d2	Add	Adjust
1	Damage Resistance: Cold.	Damage Vulernability: Fire.
2	Fear of Fire. If the creature takes fire damage, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn.	Darkvision 60 ft. or more.

Combat Adaptations. Consider adding these adaptations to make arctic creatures. Roll 1d6 and consult the table below. This may adjust the creature's CR.

d6	Adaptation
1	Snow Camouflage. The creature has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in snowy terrain.
2	Chilling Gaze. The creature targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the creature, the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or take cold damage and then be paralyzed for 1 minute, unless it is immune to cold damage. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the target's saving throw is successful, or if the effect ends on it, the target is immune to the Chilling Gaze of all creatures of this type for 1 hour.
3	Damage Immunities cold
4	Cold Breath (Recharge 5–6). The creature exhales a blast of freezing wind in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
5	Heated Body. A creature that touches the creature or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 10 (3d6) fire damage.
6	Ice Walk. The creature can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn't cost it extra movement.

Arctic Adventure Hooks

Desert Biomes

Life in the desert bends toward two ruling forces: water and shelter. But apart from these, each desert is unique, providing a breadth of options for adventure. Caves born from nutrient rich lava beds of former tropical islands can offer quiet refuge to the galaxy’s outcasts. Slot canyons can obscure the hideaways of the most daring bandits—but these fugitives risk awakening long-sleeping predators slumbering at the center of such arid mazes.

Though even a mundane world’s deserts can feel distinctly otherworldly, consider an alien landscape permanently tinged with saturated sunset oranges and pinks where obsidian rocks litter the ground and swarms of large insects trail dusty clouds of fragrant, glittering pollen. On another world, a forest of deep blue cacti begins to open 3-foot-wide pronged blooms filled with potent and fuel-efficient nectar. Still other deserts might offer nutrient-rich soil, where epiphytic plants cling to the remains of long-dead trees, providing both shelter and sustenance to a troop of miniature two-headed marsupials.

The most desolate deserts are disorienting, wholly unforgiving, and unavoidable on older planets. Environmental obstacles such as windstorms carrying tsunamis of lung-blocking, equipment-wrecking sand require specialized respirators and constant maintenance of sensitive gear. Extended journeys on foot may be severely limited by the heat of the day, leaving travelers to navigate under a bitterly cold night sky. Unadapted vehicles can quickly become a liability in this landscape; lack of replacement parts or specialty equipment will leave travelers no choice but to improvise repairs and upgrades with whatever can be found and more heavily rely on desert inhabitants for support and fuel. Such inhabitants, meanwhile, might cling to rare oases, building a rich civilization around these fonts of life among the desolation, or might travel in nomadic groups, possibly cleaving together with systems of barter for rare resources, or constantly fighting over what little is available. For a visitor, an afternoon spent stranded behind a lone mechanic’s shop could provide some quiet downtime to gaze outward as the blinding sky and sand blurs into an indistinguishable horizon, a soft wind carrying the scent of the spiny sagebrush that still manages to cling to life.

Desert biomes are commonly found on planets that orbit closer to their suns. Still, a degrading atmosphere, an aging star, or stranger factors can cause deserts to continuously spread on nearly any terrestrial world. For some planets, the ecosystem’s decline is starkly evident. On the oldest of desert worlds, a complete lack of stored surface water exposes the ghosts of their oceans and reveals deep reliefs of steep mountain ranges and channels. Despite this, these planets can experience short, thick muddy rainstorms and flash flooding. In their polar regions, this rain can freeze to form heavy, dirty flakes up to a foot in diameter. Major wind events occur with great regularity, eroding even the most colossal mountains into dappled purple and bright white dunes.

Younger worlds may still maintain seasonal seas able to support gentle elephantine land mammals. The hub of such a planet might be a shielded oasis that resembles something like a typical tropical island, serving as a vacation destination for affluent residents and visitors. Alternatively, civilization could be in the middle of transition after a planet-wide dust storm devastated the above-ground infrastructure, forcing residents to flee to other planets and leaving those with less resources behind to fend for themselves and forge a new way of life. When winter falls on such a planet, the thick atmosphere casts deep burgundy light onto the skeletons of former palaces, museums, apartments, schools, and markets, where creatures displaced by the storm begin to take up residence.

Though water is universally lacking on desert planets, deep underground aquifers might still rest under bygone forests, cities, and volcanic mountain ranges, allowing the world’s ecosystems to flourish. Where a reef once filled fishers’ nets, leathery terrestrial descendants of octopi might now flex their tentacles to hide among blighted coral, searching for prey to snap up with their razor-sharp beaks. The exposed bones of an ancient city could become overrun by innumerable brightly colored succulents, their roots running deep into unused sewer systems. A desert within a desert, large swaths of equatorial land may form into pools of slick, holographic glass that creates hallucinogenic refractions and audibly sizzles from miles away, often interfering with any technology that comes within range.

Desert Toolbox

Forest Biomes

Forests can be one of the most important and biodiverse biomes on a planet, serving as massive natural recycling centers and homes for countless denizens, all of which survive in an intricate web of interdependent symbiotic relationships. Forests exist in almost every climate, from frigid taigas to sweltering jungles. Tropical rainforests tend to have the greatest biodiversity of any biome, boasting plants, animals, and even societies of sapient creatures that might be entirely unique to the world—or even the galaxy.

Widely varied even in their most mundane manifestations, alien forests are rich with bizarre possibilities. A jungle might be a labyrinth of crystalline, silicon-based plant life, or it might be filled with wildlife that evolved to project strange illusions that ward off predators. In one forest, some trees might bend toward unseen energies instead of the sun, intersecting with phyotosynthetic plant life at odd angles. In another, trees may grow into shapes that channel wind into haunting melodies.

Besides the thrill of discovery, forests typically contain an abundance of natural resources, such as food, lumber, fuel, or medicinal plants. Dense tree cover can also provide the perfect place to lay low for anyone on the run or just simply fed up with the demands of an urban lifestyle.

Life in a forest revolves around its trees, whose shape, size, and structure can vary wildly even on Earth-like planets. On a world with low gravity, slender-trunked trees might stretch hundreds of feet into the air, with branches and leaves that spread and sway in the slightest breeze like sea anemones in the ocean. In high gravity, trees could be much shorter and stouter, perhaps even wider than they are tall, as they struggle to move nutrients against powerful gravitational forces. In any forest, all manner of strange creatures adapt to these different forms.

Sapient creatures who make forests their homes are as diverse in their interactions with the biome as forests themselves. Some inhabitants might spend their entire lives flying or swinging from branch to branch among the canopy, never setting foot on the forest floor. Others might tap into the forest canopy, capturing energy gained via photosynthesis and distributing it to advanced technologies among its shade. Those who live in the dense and dark undergrowth may develop senses more powerful than sight and might live in mobile and makeshift structures that can be as difficult to spot as they are easy to move. Those who build more permanent structures often do so in tangent with the surrounding trees, building their homes in sprawling woven-vine villages or among complex root systems. However a species adapts to its forest home, it’s likely to be closely intertwined with the ecosystem. A forest-dwelling sapient species might form symbiotic relationships with fungi or parasitic plants that concentrate needed nutrients from the trees, or they might develop elaborate rituals for living in peace with apex predators that would otherwise eradicate them.

It’s not uncommon for terrestrial worlds to have land masses predominantly covered in forests—that is, until native societies reach a phase of rapid industrialization. But a forest planet isn’t necessarily a monoculture of the same trees for countless thousands of miles. Boreal forests, temperate forests, and tropical forests are capable of hosting a multitude of different life-forms and thrive in different environments. A forested planet doesn’t have to consist of only land masses. Forests of kelp or other underwater plants serve as havens for all sorts of life. Forests in tropical environs are the most ecologically diverse, with thick canopies and nutrient-poor soil, and typically stay the same temperature year-round. Temperate forests are more likely to experience seasonal cycles, such as leaves changing color and falling off in autumn and winter and regrowing in the spring. Because of this cycle, creatures typically use the plentiful warmer months to stock up and prepare for the colder, sparser months. The flora and fauna of boreal forests have adapted to extremely cold temperatures; the trees are typically evergreens with needle-like leaves, and the animals have thick coats of fur, feathers, or layers of insulating fat.

Forest Toolbox

Forest Adventure Hooks

Junk Biomes

One being's trash is another's treasure, or so the saying goes. Nowhere is that more apparent than in a junk biome, a patchwork landscape made up of abandoned spaceships, discarded cargo containers, and heaps of rusted scrap metal. While most planets feature natural beauty, the junkyard biome is marked by the chaos and disorder of industrial decay, offering up a hazardous terrain where daring scavengers and desperate survivors can scrounge for valuable salvage.

At first glance, a junkyard may appear inhospitable and barren, with twisted metal and debris stretching as far as the eye can see. But beneath the piles of rubble and heaps of broken machinery lies a wealth of resources waiting to be uncovered. Salvageable parts and components from hundreds of different ships and devices can be found here, from engines and weapons to life support systems and power cores. Of course, finding anything of value requires a keen eye and a willingness to dig through piles of trash and dangerous, unstable debris.

Despite the dangers, many creatures have adapted to life in the junkyard biome. Junkyard predators, evolving over millenia to thrive in eons old debris, prowl the scrap heaps in search of prey, while rust weevils and other vermin thrive on the corroded metal and wiring that litter the ground. Pools of spent hyperfuel and turbolaser coolant create strange chemical concoctions in which life grows and evolves rapidly. Abandoned droids form their own strange societies, growing beyond their original programming to new and esoteric drives. Some scavengers have even built makeshift shelters and encampments among the wreckage, using salvaged materials to create their own havens in this otherwise harsh environment. Whole civilizations may dwell among the abandoned material, repurposing ancient technology to suit their own needs.

Junk biomes form in myriad ways. Often they form organically as a civilization develops technology: industrial overproduction creates a need to store waste and abandoned material. This means creating large junkyards, but this process can often produce whole worlds of scrap and waste. Over time, powerful galactic organizations recognize the need to preserve their own environs and end up finding other worlds to store their trash, be they corporations leasing sovereign junk worlds or militant empires forcing vassal systems to scrap a hulk fleet.

Occasionally junk worlds form naturally. Celestial bodies with unusual gravity eddies may create graviton maelstroms, pulling ships out of standard shipping lanes or even hyperroutes and bringing them into unsalvagable wrecks. Planets with a strong affinity to the Dark Side of the Force host supernatural beings that tempt starship captains to seek them out, in search of treasure or sheer need, only to consume their life force and abandon their ships.

Whether a seasoned scavenger looking to make a quick credit or a starship crew in desperate need of repairs, the junk biome offers a unique and challenging landscape ripe for exploration and discovery. Just be sure to watch your step, as one false move could mean a one-way trip to the scrap heap.

Examples

Raxus Prime was once a shining jewel of the Tion Hegemony, until centuries of industrialization sullied its lagoons and covered its hills in junk. The mining of phosovane salts eventually ruined Attahox, leaving corporations and pirates to abandon their detritus there. Similarly, Lotho Minor has served as a dumping ground for the Republic from the earliest times of hyperspace travel. The outdated droids discarded on Ronyards eventually came to see their planet as a living god, creating a strange cult that resisted Imperial occupation.

Junk Toolbox

Junk Adaptations

Sentients who dwell in junk biomes live off the land, learning to use the scraps of technology around themselves to survive. The flora and fauna may be native or invasive, but is almost always hardier and more grizzled than counterparts outside of the scrapyard. Invariably droids that are either abandoned or assigned to junkyards find ways to continue beyond their programmed lifespan, replacing broken parts with whatever scrap they can find, and even forging new creations from the local debris.

Junk Creature Templates

The following templates can be applied to certain creature stat blocks to adapt them to a junk biome. This may require adjusting the CR.

Junked

Prerequisite: Creature type: Droid.
Damage: Choose one adjustment

• Brittle. Reduce AC by 20%.
• Malfunctioning. Reduce an attack by one dice step (d10 to d8, d8 to d6, etc.).
• Shorted. If droid has techcasting, reduce Tech points by 20%
• Rusted. Decrease speed by half.

Modification: Choose one adjustment.

• Plated. Increase AC by 20%.
• Boosted. Increase an attack by one dice step.
• Overclocked. If droid has techcasting, increase Tech points by 20%.
• Greased. Increase speed by half.

Scrapper

Prerequisite: Creature type: Humanoid.

• Add 1d4 Techcasting levels
• Add Survival and Technology proficiencies
• Add one Cybernetic Enhancement up to Prototype quality

Mechanical

Prerequisite: Creature type: Beast.

• Change creature type to Construct
• Add Vulnerabilities: Lightning, ion
• Add feature: Durasteel Claws. Add one damage dice to creature's attacks.

Junkyard

Prerequisite: Creature type: Beast or Plant.

• AC. The creature gains natural armor and its AC is increased by 1.
  
• HP. The creature's Hit Dice are increased by 3 and its hit points recalculated for increased Hit Die size and Constitution.
  
• Size. The creature's size is increased by one category.
  
• Speed. The creature's speed is increased by 10 feet.
  
• Abilities. The creature's Strength score is increased by 5, its Constitution score is increased by 3, and its Charisma score is increased by 1.

Marsh Biome

Marshes can range from herbaceous territory of towering grasses that can hide any threat to swamps with shadow-casting trees—and far beyond. Do explorers trudge through the peaty sludge of a bog or clamber up a fen’s far drier inclines? Even riparian zones like riverbanks, flood plains, and estuaries meet the core criterion: consistently waterlogged soil. Add to that the wide range of temperatures of these marshes—from tropical mires to tundra that periodically thaws into ice-cold ponds—that provide a vast number of narrative and descriptive options.

Wetlands are a literal slog to navigate, and those on foot endure the boot-sucking mud while brushing aside sheets of stubborn hanging moss and slapping away insistent insects. Marsh travel can also feature unusual vehicular travel: from explorers piloting fan boats while cruising an uncharted bayou to river pirates fleeing pursuit in a daring hovercraft chase.

Common features of Earth-like marshes can become wild and strange when encountered in alien ecosystems. Under a blue sun, predatory rainbow eels the size of tree trunks undulate through the dark water, ominously rocking orange lily pads as they search for their next meals. The water pressure and surface tension on one high-gravity world can be so intense that foot-thick rafts of algae choke the mires, creating floating bridges stable enough to support an all-terrain buggy. Grasses in a low-gravity marsh may loom 30 feet high, able to hide even tremendous, broad-footed theropods that hunt by scent. Flora on another world produce toxic gasses as a byproduct, which pool in dense clouds over the bog waters. Fauna have adapted to clamber and fly above these dead zones, and those who misstep tumble into the oxygen-starved waters only to mummify in the thick peat.

Thankfully, marshes present as many opportunities as dangers. Only a rain forest surpasses a wetland’s biodiversity, and those animal, plant, and fungal resources can be the key to unlocking medical discoveries or simply represent a lucrative delicacy that wealthy patrons would pay well to acquire. While marshes are quick to swallow ruins and hide even the largest starship wrecks, their still waters inhibit decay in a way that makes excavating them one of the best ways to understand the past. And as an imposing biome that most civilizations hesitate to invade, a marsh can be an invaluable sanctuary for those who need to escape the hustle and bustle (and perhaps the arrest warrants) of modern society.

Water shapes life in the wetlands—both through the abundance of moisture and also the seasonal periods when the ground becomes more dry. The most successful inhabitants straddle the line between being fully terrestrial or aquatic. Even nimble arboreal specialists like monkeys and cats must become adequate swimmers. Broad feet keep larger inhabitants from sinking irreversibly into the mud, allowing mid-sized sauropods, bovines, and pachyderms to graze on any foliage that can survive being submerged for months at a time. Many bogs and fens have poor soil nutrients, which drives plants to evolve carnivorous strategies to meet their needs. In an alien environment, these plants can grow to immense size, able to consume virtually any animal they encounter. Sapient non-aquatic inhabitants must contend with the constant wet conditions. For most, that means constructing elevated living spaces—such as woven tree houses built on sturdy platforms—creating floating settlements, or just selectively draining parts of the marsh to reclaim dry land. For aquatic species, seasonal droughts remain a bigger concern, inspiring the creation of artificial reservoirs that remain submerged year-round. Both kinds of sapient creatures benefit from dredging deep channels to form watery highways, with carefully maintained marshes transforming into webs of transit and aquaculture over generations.

Examples

The Dark Side of the Force is strong on swamp planets like Dagobah and Dromund Kaas. Others, like Vodron or Twon Ketee, are filled with dangerous creatures. The wetlands of Sorgan host krill farms for spotchka production.

Marsh Toolbox

Mountain Biome

The common hazards of even the most mundane mountains— steep cliffs, deep ravines with rushing rivers at the bottom, low oxygen, extra hours of night and weeks of winter, and the constant threat of avalanche and rock slide—are amplified all the more by the endless potential of science fantasy. Anything could await atop the next peak, from living, ever-shifting stone to dangerous apex predators that can scale near-vertical surfaces with supernatural ease. Higher altitude also comes with colder temperatures, even on a sunny day. Nights can turn bone-chilling quickly, and high winds might make it difficult to start a fire. Campsites must be scouted ahead, and mercurial weather conditions can turn deadly in an instant. Barren desert plateaus might pose a challenge for travelers whose equipment requires regular cleaning with water. Extra equipment weighs anyone down, with picks, oxygen tanks, and camping gear stuffed into oversized packs. Weather events, such as rain, can turn into ice storms at higher elevations. In warmer climes, desert heat and dehydration can quickly endanger unprepared trekkers.

However, where there is death, there is also great propensity for life. Mountain wildlife evolves to be nimble and quiet, often making it difficult to detect without the Force or advanced technology. Sometimes enormous and covered in fur, other times slithering along the ground, these creatures have adapted to difficult circumstances and treacherous terrain. Even the rockiest, craggiest peaks are rife with lush moss, fat highbush berries, and edible weeds. Glacial runoff and deep-rooted springs offer crisp, clean drinking water. Small critters make for easy game, and dense, dry trees provide plentiful firewood. Medicinal herbs grow thick in shaded regions, though this highlights the need to know the difference between the edible, the medicinal, and the poisonous. Many of these delights are well-documented in guidebooks, but there is still ample opportunity for discovery.

Some mountains stand alone, formidable paragons of the form that hold great mysteries not just at their peaks, but along their jagged crevasses and treacherous rock faces. Others form extensive ranges that stretch for thousands of miles of seemingly endless elevation change, slowing all but the hardiest travelers to a crawl. At their base, mountains might ease into sloping, heavily treed hillsides or vast expanses of shale and eroded boulders.

Whatever shape their homes take, sapient inhabitants of mountain biomes turn to technological solutions to mitigate the dangers of mountain living. Whether carving their homes into the rock, constructing elaborate, sturdy-strutted buildings among the cliffs, or even camouflaging their presence with boulder-size, rock-textured dwellings, mountain inhabitants are often as rugged as their surroundings.

Mountain Adaptations

To traverse the cliffs and slopes of mountains, most creatures either fly or have especially sure footing. They also must adapt to low temperatures and oxygen levels brought on by high elevations. Many sapients adapt to these conditions by artificial means.

Mountain Adventure Hooks

Plains Biome

It’s easy to think of plains as featureless expanses stretching to the horizon, but their steady elevations can host an immense range of flora, fauna, and terrain features. Floods or glaciers gift the lands they flatten with sediments that support an abundance of plant life, an alimentary oasis for beasts and sapient creatures alike. Temperature, latitude, and rainfall levels combine to create variations like tropical savannas, arid steppes, and frozen tundra. Jutting formations of deposited rock or inselbergs might dot a continent and be visible for miles around. Seasonal lakes and floods can reshape the land at regular intervals. Yes, plains are flat, but so is a painter’s canvas.

Adding alien elements to plains’ most familiar manifestations expands the canvas further. An immense starship crashes and skids for leagues, scraping some areas flat and plowing up furrows in others to create disaster-birthed valleys. Gargantuan filter feeders might skim the landscape, the downdraft of their flight bladders applying enough force that only pressure-resistant life can survive. There could be translucent, shoulder-high grasses that crackle and sing with electricity as they ripple in frigid winds. An amoebic river might flood once per season—up into the air, where the planet’s strange atmosphere refines the liquid into nearly solid layers, with just enough room between them for rodents to forage for the river’s arthropods. Cracks in leathery ground ooze biological sludge, the substance nearly boiling beneath triple suns but cooling in winter into scabrous, nutrient-rich animal dens.

Life native to the plains adapts to the wide-open spaces and difficult-to-avoid weather. Trees likely have deep root systems to withstand strong winds, or form symbiotic bonds with creatures that can shelter inside them. Predators can take advantage of storms to hunt prey in their burrows or even charge their unique physiologies with lightning strikes or more alien atmospheric manifestations. The hunted might avoid hunters through high-speed locomotion such as flight or sprinting, or use early detection enabled by powerful sensory organs to give them time to conceal themselves. Others create cover that mimics rock formations or stands of grass.

The same conditions that create interesting evolutionary niches can cause trouble for adventurers, who must contend with bizarre storms and howling winds. The psychological elements can be just as difficult. Those unfamiliar with the plains and forced to spend long stretches of time there may become unnerved by isolation, the ever-receding horizon, or the ever-present wind. These same challenges likely make other features stand out all the more, be they solitary waystations or an unlikely social encounter. Other problems—and their causes— are of a larger scale, like ecological degradation from long-term resource extraction or smog settling over a heavily populated intermountain plateau.

Systemic problems usually mean sapient populations, and plains are natural population centers. Nomadic peoples follow herds of migratory beasts or windborne plants. Many such biomes are relatively easy to build on or cultivate for industrial agriculture; a busy plains city might sit at the center of concentric rings of multicolored farmland. These cities can also make natural transit hubs, as many are positioned between other metropolises, often because plains peoples were a key part of a planet’s early trade networks. Those networks usually facilitated cultural exchange, meaning plains societies can be important sources of historical or archaeological records. Others might wage war across expansive and familiar terrain, using speed to compensate for a lack of defensible positions. These same conditions could instead lead a society to value diplomacy to defuse threats before they can fully coalesce.

Many plains worlds are likely created by the same forces that form typical plains, but on a global scale. A planet’s molten core may have vented long ago, covering the surface in smooth layers of lava rock, or an atmospheric anomaly might have evaporated a formerly oceanic world’s surface water. Perhaps melt or glaciation from polar ice caps takes the places of alluvial plains. Origins might be stranger still, such as a rhizome hive mind that shapes the world to its needs or an extraplanetary gravitational force that flattened great portions of a world.

Shared origin doesn’t have to mean a uniform surface. Uninterrupted wind currents are likely a large part of plains-world ecology, carrying seeds, soil, or even fauna across the globe. These might leave clear physical markers, such as windborne seeds that take root in colossal rivers of plant life that in turn attract migrating herds. The same winds likely interact with the planet’s axial tilt and temperature bands to produce diverse regions; it’s perfectly feasible for arid grasslands, tree-studded savannas, and tundras of bioluminescent lichens to exist on the same largely flat world. Lakes, rivers, and underwater aquifers likewise influence surrounding regions. For instance, subterranean water or a reservoir of homogeneous biomass would enable lush surface growth.

Plains Toolbox

Space Biome

No Star Wars game would be complete without high-stakes drama set in the endless possibility of space. Fantastical technology and the mystical power of the Force means explorers can find themselves probing the hearts of suns or discovering the mysteries of black holes—and facing people and creatures that have the power or knowledge to survive in such unforgiving ecosystems.

Space presents the rare biome where the primary feature is not what it contains, but what it lacks. Space by default threatens terrestrial life with its lack of atmosphere, and it complicates conventional locomotion by removing gravity. These challenges make for naturally epic moments, as the perils of space mean that even a small miscalculation or mistake has dire consequences.

Surrounded by such danger, any life that exists in space has an element of the fantastic to it, and the possibilities are endless. Creatures in space have either evolved to exist without the need for respiration or have an alternative to breathing; many also have specialized means of getting nourishment from the scarce resources of space, or else have some way to survive long periods without food. Many space creatures utilize the environmental dangers of space to their own advantage, whether it’s an apex predator hunting within the mysterious darkness of a nebula or a sentient saboteur staging an ambush from beyond the event horizon of a black hole. Pushing the limits of what’s possible, space becomes even more exciting and dangerous.

Civilizations that exist in space can vary wildly. Mining colonies and fuel depots on the fringes of society may get by on pure grit and whatever scraps trickle in from the hub worlds, while research stations or orbital depots may receive regular visits delivering supplies and checking on the progress of their intended operations. Asteroid miners may struggle with boredom in their ships as they try to pass the time between shifts, while space pirates may find themselves living adventure to adventure with no meaningful peace in between. In the furthest reaches of space, society gets even stranger; you may meet scavenger collectives that leap fearlessly from asteroid to asteroid in rings comprised of former planets, beings that congregate in shielded sanctuaries on the surfaces of stars or hide depraved deeds in the dark of derelict freighters. Space is truly the largest, greatest wilderness, and those that set out to face it need resilience, ingenuity, and more than a little luck to keep flying.

Celestial bodies offer extraordinary variety in their composition and feel. Asteroids, comets, and other pieces of space debris can be large enough to present years of exploration. Proximity to a source of cosmic power, like a star or a black hole, might expose a world to immense amounts of energy, supernatural or otherwise, which can allow inhabiting creatures to evolve into unique niches over immense stretches of time, creating strange exceptions well beyond the norms of terrestrial life.

Advanced species use specialized means to generate artificial gravity and atmosphere, allowing orbital platforms, asteroid bunkers, or floating super-structures to operate in relative normalcy. Any interruption can mean catastrophe for unprepared inhabitants, so the defense and maintenance of these systems is top priority for the crews. If something goes wrong in these remote habitats, the results can be devastating, but the rewards can be immense for those willing and able to explore such ruins and lay claim to their resources.

Space Toolbox

Subterranean Biomes

When adventurers observe a planet from orbit, they might see verdant forests, vast deserts, jagged mountains, shimmering oceans, or sprawling metropolises. However, these environments merely scratch the surface of what adventures a planet might hold. As brave heroes traverse the depths, who knows what wonders they might find as they journey through the seemingly infinite network of tunnels and caves?

Subterranean environments exist parallel to the surface world, covering just as much, if not more, area as their aboveground counterparts. While explorers might find themselves in cramped tunnels and passageways, their underground adventures might also take them across vast open caverns or enable them to cross a planet via a network of caves. In a science fantasy adventure, the heroes can use all manner of technological equipment and natural methods to navigate the dark—darkness that can hide threats, challenges, and discoveries the likes of which surface dwellers have never seen. Adventurers might need to rappel down cliffs, scramble over craggy boulders, carve pathways into the rock, and navigate a wide range of other environmental challenges to discover ancient, long-forgotten treasures and ruins.

Subterranean environments are replete with bizarre life forms and discoveries that often differ greatly from those of the surface. Darkness is a defining feature of underground environments, and the flora and fauna that dwell within have likely adapted over the eons to life without a sun. Mosses and fungi might glow with bioluminescence or slowly crawl across surfaces in vast migrations. Animals might have surpassed the need for eyesight and use other senses that excel in their rocky homes, such as intensely keen hearing or the ability to feel life through vibrations in stone. Such creatures also would have evolved ways to navigate treacherous terrain, such as being expert climbers or being able to bypass steep rock faces via flight.

All manner of people can inhabit a planet’s subterranean environments. Visitors might encounter small, nomadic groups that survive by hunting cave-dwelling animals or by farming unusual crops, such as glowing mushrooms, verdant mosses, and stranger plants. The PCs may visit technologically marvelous metropolises that thrive underground by harvesting resources that can be found only in such environments: rich starmetal veins, minerals that thrum with Force energy, and even thinned boundaries between the Material and Elemental Planes. Such underground empires can thrive, becoming primary suppliers of materials that are difficult to obtain from aboveground sources. These civilizations might have developed technological advances fueled by both necessity and industry, and certain underground cities are likely to be rich troves of knowledge unlearnable anywhere else.

Regardless of a sapient civilization’s scale, it must contend with the dangers and threats that life underground presents. Nomadic groups could have developed gear to camp on sheer cliff faces, or cities might be carved into the stone to provide natural defenses.

Subterranean biomes can be found on just about any terrestrial planet, as they exist separately from the other biomes that occupy the surface, although their formation often relies on environmental factors in a planet’s history. Many cave systems form via erosion, whether from acidic rainwater dissolving stone, a glacier carving passages into bedrock, or even an ocean’s waves crashing against a cliff for centuries. Volcanic activity also results in the formation of subterranean environments, with lava tubes leaving intricate interconnected cave systems in their wake. In some cases, these systems may seem like separate worlds entirely from the rest of their planets

On some worlds, the subterranean biome is essentially the only habitable environment for a sapient species, thanks to factors in the planet’s development. Perhaps sapient species left the surface world due to the prevalence of threats or a drastic change in the surface environment. A catastrophic threat would not only provide a reason for the sapient species of the world to retreat underground, but it also might inform how that society constructs its defenses and leverages its new subterranean home to defend against outside incursions.

Subterranean Toolbox

Subterranean Adventure Hooks

Urban Biomes

Even the smallest local hovel and backstreet alley are rife with threat and opportunity. Only the best and brightest of the universe can make their mark under the shadows of daunting corporate towers and stand apart from the pedestrian crowds. The most successful explorers delving into concrete jungles know how to avoid becoming just another cog in the machine. From isolated space stations to sprawling cities to linked rafts of starships, urban environments offer a kaleidoscope of cultures, industrial danger, and salacious intrigue.

Even if the streets are named and the ship decks numbered, urban environments most often form a social and mechanical maze. The overlapping layouts of ground and sky traffic, combined with tight quarters and constant construction make explorers of an unfamiliar city as prone to navigation mistakes as those in a foggy forest. Fully exploring what urban environments have to offer requires some local know-how or investigative skills. Urban biomes challenge explorers to rely on their conversational skills or cultural knowledge to discover their environment. Public transportation and vehicles are powerful assistants for navigating the neon lights and intersecting streets.

Urban biomes are sometimes infused with their local ecosystem, and many settlements across the galaxy have less-than-hospitable locations. Your rich metropolis may rest at the bottom of an ocean with aquatic residents, float on islands in the sky, or be buried under a mountain. Some cities take advantage of locations with no atmosphere or places that lack natural terrestrial structures entirely, such as outposts on orbital bodies or dozens of starships linked together to form makeshift cities in the deadest parts of space. The primary residents of urban areas determine the area’s unique architecture, resulting in cities built for giants or scaled down for minuscule sapient creatures. Urban areas often allow technology to flourish, from AI deeply integrated into the environment to entirely non-biological residents. The possibility for the location of an urban settlement is limited only by the ingenuity of the people that populate it (or originally created it), and its structure is a reflection of its residents.

While populated cities on established planets offer many opportunities to expand on the culture and create population epicenters, urban environments don’t necessarily need to be populated. Explore the possibility of urban areas with minimal population, such as a city forcibly evacuated after a disaster, an abandoned space station, or a deteriorating metropolis. The scaffolding, locked storefronts, and factories remain as a gymnasium of obstacles bordering eerily silent streets.

Most inhabited planets contain at least one or two pockets of truly urban areas, but some settlements or even entire worlds consist entirely of this sapient-constructed biome. The most common fully urban worlds are those built in the harshest reaches of space, where a manufactured atmosphere and metal walls provide the only livable refuge in deep space or orbiting other celestial bodies. An otherwise-unlivable chunk of rock can become a thriving metropolis with enough applied ingenuity.

Larger worlds entirely consumed by sprawling urban landscapes typically reflect a populace’s technological advancement and preference for the comforts of society over the planet’s rough natural environment. Such technological dominance can interfere with the world’s natural resources, weather, and habitats, possibly leaving a world in a dire situation if they still rely on those resources but haven’t adapted ways to compensate for their absence. The natural environment may fight back against the urban development, resulting in swaths of urban areas suffering floods, blizzards, earthquakes, and sandstorms—or simply being overtaken by the constant, rampant growth of flora. Urban worlds may exist purely due to the creative tenacity of the universe’s cultures as their technology expands to be able to create non-naturally occurring planetoids set into rotation around a sun.

Urban Toolbox

Volcanic Biomes

At the heart of many terrestrial planets are volcanic biomes, a realm shaped by the raw power of geologic forces and intense heat. This otherworldly landscape is dominated by towering volcanoes, seething magma rivers, and billowing plumes of ash that darken the skies. In this extreme environment, the very ground beneath your feet trembles with seismic activity, and the air crackles with anticipation, charged with the energy of a dormant beast awakening. The landscape bears the scars of past eruptions, with layers of hardened lava flows and ash deposits serving as a testament to the raw power that lies within.

The volcanic biome presents a breathtaking yet treacherous terrain, where the constant threat of eruptions and the scorching heat pose significant challenges to even the most seasoned explorers. Lava flows snake their way down the mountainsides, creating surreal formations and rendering vast stretches of land uninhabitable. The molten rock seethes and bubbles, casting an eerie glow that paints the landscape in shades of red and orange.

Despite the seemingly inhospitable conditions, the volcanic biome is not devoid of life. Adaptation is the key to survival here, and the hardiest organisms have evolved to thrive in this extreme environment. Fire-resistant flora such as obsidian cacti and flame ferns cling to the crevices of cooled lava flows, their brilliant colors providing stark contrast to the desolation. Winged creatures, like the elusive ash angels and heat gliders, soar through the smoky skies, their bodies resistant to the scorching heat and toxic gases. Insects and small creatures scuttle across the rugged terrain, their survival intricately intertwined with the cycles of volcanic activity. Even in the molten rock live beasts adapted to the unimaginable heat and power of lava.

Even sentient cultures occupy volcanic biomes. They may treat the burning surface with awe and wonder, worshiping volcanic eruptions and enduring the heat with their adapted carapaces. Or they may exploit the planet’s heat, using it to build powerful forges or extracting rare minerals. Places where the lava has cooled and eroded with time could give way to productive agricultural zones, hosting cities living in the shadow of towering volcanic cones.

Beneath the surface, hidden chambers and tunnels bear the remnants of ancient civilizations, their existence forever entwined with the volatile nature of the volcanic biome. Archaeological sites, ancient temples, and lava-carved caverns hold secrets waiting to be unearthed by intrepid explorers. Legends whisper of mystical artifacts imbued with the power of fire and transformation, buried deep within the heart of the mountains, promising unimaginable power to those who can withstand the heat and face the challenges that lie ahead.

But venturing into the volcanic biome is not for the faint of heart. The air is thick with acrid fumes and hazardous gases, and treacherous volcanic phenomena can unleash a deadly torrent of ash, rock, and pyroclastic flows at a moment's notice. Earthquakes rock the ground, threatening to swallow the unwary, while superheated steam vents hiss and spew scalding water into the air. The environment itself is a constant reminder of the tumultuous forces at work beneath the planet's surface.

For those brave enough to explore this fiery domain, the rewards are great. Valuable minerals, gemstones, and rare volcanic crystals can be found amidst the rocky outcrops and geothermal vents, coveted by scientists, miners, and collectors across the galaxy. The volcanic biome offers a unique opportunity to study the geologic processes that shape worlds, unravel the mysteries of volcanic activity, and witness the raw power of nature in its most awe-inspiring form.

So, gather your gear, steel your nerves, and venture into the heart of the volcanic biome. But remember, in this scorching crucible of fire and molten rock, survival is not guaranteed. Only the most resilient and resourceful will navigate the dangers and unlock the secrets that lie within this tumultuous realm. Witness the raw power of the planet, feel the tremors that resonate through your very core, and immerse yourself in a landscape that is both fearsome and captivating. In the volcanic realm, adventure awaits those who are willing to embrace the fire within.

Volcanic Toolbox

Weird Biomes

Rogue planets exiled by their exploding suns wander the lightless expanses. Aberrant lifeforms grow as large as planetoids, slumbering with unspoken aspirations as unsuspecting creatures carve out a life on their miles-thick carapace. Cosmic forces that could never support life in a mundane universe arise in arcane nebulae and star systems born from the will of the Living Force. Across the galaxy’s billions of planets, the impossible becomes merely improbable, birthing biomes best described as weird.

In a science fantasy setting, weird biomes exist in part to provide a counterpoint to familiar Earth-like realms. What qualifies as weird may simply be a planet, star, or system encountered at an extreme point of its life cycle, such as newborn molten planetoids, realms so decrepit that they’re practically crumbling, or stubborn occult echoes of worlds that have long since disintegrated. More often, though, weirdness borrows from the outlandish tropes of planar travel, made even more jarring because weird biomes aren’t monolithic, infinite, divine realms; they exist within and are a natural extension of the physical universe, reinforcing that the strangest destinations lie unsettlingly close to home. Unlike in mountains and deserts, adventurers can’t just rely on envirosuits to forget their surroundings; a weird biome presents a constant threat that could absorb, consume, or melt the complacent traveler. More than any other environ, these worlds aren’t just the setting; they’re the story itself.

Given their dangers, why hazard even approaching these worlds? In the case of living worlds, visitors might have no choice; these planets and colossal creatures often hunt down nearby starships, space stations, and whole worlds to consume or corrupt in the perpetuation of their million-year life cycles. Those who survive this predation often establish the beachheads for future exploration. What’s more, alighting on such a beast’s surface might be the only way for heroes to neutralize the behemoth and save their own homes.

More often, weird realms hide many of the setting’s greatest secrets: lifeless tracts preserve ancient knowledge for eons, tremendous living worlds are inimitable biological case studies, regions with aberrant physics might prove a critical testing ground for the next great technologies, and time-locked sanctums hiding ancient artifacts from civilizations past. In other cases, eccentric realms promise extraordinary resources. Intense pressures cause crushing atmospheres to rain diamonds. Magically warped nuclear fission yields supernatural elements key to building ever more powerful computers. Certain inorganic lifeforms might even photosynthesize raw minerals, fulfilling that fanciful dream of money growing on trees. Through a combination of physics and the Force, anything is possible, and each possibility is a scientific treasure, attracting unconventional adventurers with the promise of novelty and riches.

Where life exists in weird biomes, always consider how the creatures navigate, subsist, breath, reproduce, and survive. After all, even an utterly alien realm benefits from internal logic that makes its oddities more plausible. What’s more, these inhabitants might view PCs as the truly unnatural beings, establishing an unsettling dynamic for first-contact encounters.

Native species are often as strange as the terrain itself, and by necessity, such organisms have adapted to survive—and even thrive—under bizarre circumstances. Dead planets might lack organic life, populated instead by droids or Force spirits. Those dwelling on or within immense planet-beings must weather their host’s tremendous movements, with sustenance as likely to be parasitized from the planetoid’s body as captured through photosynthesis.

Weird Toolbox

Weird Adventure Hooks

Unity

For all its intellectual and material accomplishments, culture withers without the collective—some shared experiences, values, and goals that provide a society meaning and unite its people in overcoming challenges they could never defeat alone. Unity measures the degree to which a world’s individuals and societies cooperate with one another and the galaxy at large. While it outwardly corresponds to alignment, unity is distinct, and even though lawful societies tend to have higher unity than chaotic ones, powerful exceptions exist

The factors that shape unity are as complex as the constituent cultures it reflects. Codifying unity starts with asking questions. Why do a world’s inhabitants fight and compete? What drives them to seek peace and community? Did the inhabitants evolve from creatures whose survival depended on especially gregarious or individualist behavior? How monolithic is the world’s culture? How many species comprise these cultures, and are they on relatively equal footing with each other? Is there history that encourages cooperation or stokes resentment?

In human-centric sci-fi settings, myriad conditions might drive unity, from longstanding peace and prosperity to indoctrination and merciless punishment levied against anyone stepping out of line. With the introduction of the Force, alien species, and unfamiliar environments, the underlying possibilities become far more diverse and fantastical. Devastating living conditions could drive an unwavering code of hospitality or encourage desperate raiding. Abundant Force-users might provide all of a society’s needs and drive peace, but it could also fuel subjugation. The existence of telepathy opens up vast possibilities for unity, potentially breaking down any barriers between personal and communal thought. In a collective consciousness, the group-mind’s anger or joy becomes the emotion of all, creating trusting societies that can turn on a perceived threat as one.

High-unity worlds could include an ideological, semi-democratic stratocracy governed by generals and driven by referendums in which only those who serve or have served in the military can vote. The axiom that military service grants citizenship prevails; soldiers get valorized for their role while civilians are looked down upon—not hated, but pitied. Another world might feature a prosperous pluralistic democracy with a strong social safety net and a powerful economy. Most inhabitants are happy with their circumstances, and over time, politics addresses an ever-narrower set of issues with citizens treating it as a spectator sport rather than something relevant to their daily lives. High unity could reflect a cybernetic surveillance state in which sophisticated AI programs monitor inhabitants and dissent becomes impossible beneath the machine’s all-seeing eye. The AIs, in turn, remain bound by their programming, always enforcing what they deem a virtuous society.

On a medium-unity world, a once-united theocratic oligarchy cracks under a massive religious schism, all inspired by the discovery of space travel and alien species. Some accept the “sky people” as friends; others see them as peerless angels from beyond, while certain inhabitants arm themselves against the threat of otherworldly invasion. On another world, a perilously unstable coalition of burgeoning nation-states pools its resources to compete on the galactic stage. While the confederation presents a united front, old rivalries and divisions mean that internal factions always jockey for advantage and dominance. Across the galaxy, a utopian world with sophisticated nanomanufacturing and omnipresent AIs might have granted every citizen a life of decadence—until a few of the AIs achieved self-awareness. Now, the mainframes responsible for a billion lives debate their future, even as the masses remain blissfully ignorant of the often-violent disagreements conducted beneath their feet.

An iconic low-unity world is an anarchic, post-apocalyptic wasteland, where scavenger bands compete over scarce resources left behind by the ancients. Isolated city-states work to consolidate power, yet most inhabitants live nomadic lifestyles to avoid spectral hot spots, mutated beasts, and hostile raiders. Compare this type of society to a hyper-individualistic plutocracy, where citizens must contract all possible services, such as police, fire prevention, and life support. Safety lies only in joining one of the megacorporations’ petty states or one of the workers’ cooperatives that sprout from time to time. Elsewhere, citizens swear fealty to militarized aristocracies on a techno-feudal world where massive war machines breathe radioactive fire. Ostensibly, marriage and alliances bind that society’s aristocrats to each other, but belligerent vestiges of honor spark noble vendettas and valorized violence without fail.

Whatever the conditions, unity can shape adventure possibilities as much as any other factor. The PCs might find ample opportunities for conflict and profit on low- or medium-unity worlds, yet any gains they make might stay at constant risk of loss to betrayal or even raiding, allowing for high-risk/high-reward gambits.

Meanwhile, high-unity realms might have little apparent opportunity for enterprising freelancers—at least until the PCs dig up long-suppressed grievances, treasures from a bygone age, or opportunities to overthrow the quiet tyranny that currently maintains order. Often, these worlds appropriately function as a home base where adventurers can retire in peace—or serve as discrete informants charged with keeping an eye on rising threats. Such places can also present the PCs with a moral quandary, as those living in worlds at peace might prefer the price they pay for the absence of conflict, no matter how high, and exhibit resentment toward outsiders who meddle in their affairs.

High Unity Adventure Hooks

Medium Unity Adventure Hooks

Alignment

Alignment is a simplified characterization of a community (or individual’s) ideology. On a personal level, it can encompass one’s behavior, morality, and personality. When applied to a group, it encompasses the beliefs, laws, traditions, societal framework, and shared ethos of the institution and its members—the spiritual zeitgeist that unites individuals into a community. This section focuses on alignment as applied to a settlement, society, world, or other group. For more information on individual alignment, see page Ch. 24 of the SW5e Player’s Handbook.

Lawful Light

A lawful light society is altruistic and ordered. It possesses a codified set of beliefs, laws, or traditions, with clear repercussions for those who break them. Its citizens help those in need, protect the innocent, and speak out against cruelty and oppression. In a lawful light society, greater value is placed on people than on profit and progress.

Beyond these basic qualities, lawful light societies vary greatly. One might be a peaceful utopia where all citizens are equal, a meritocracy with complex social strata, or a stratocracy with a rigid military hierarchy. Its citizens may be insular, content to police one another; pacifists who enforce law with a strongly worded scolding, ritualized debates, or collective ostracism; or valorous warriors intent on righting the wrongs of the world both within and beyond their borders, perhaps going out of their way to arrest criminals, topple tyrants, vanquish extraplanar threats, or revolutionize corrupt societies.

Lawful light societies are typically stable and consistent, capable of weathering hardship and tragedy without breaking down or descending into panic and chaos. Their laws and processes might enable extraordinary unity and efficiency, though if applied unwisely, these elements could as easily hamper day-to-day life and unwittingly ensnare visitors who are unfamiliar with the arcane, altruistic intricacies. Many lawful light societies value traditions and prove relatively slow to enact change. This can cause some societies to stagnate or grow so rigid that they become incapable of adapting to changing environments. Some societies embrace the democratic ratification and modification of laws, confident they move closer to a more virtuous and perfect society with each amendment.

Lawful light societies police or monitor their inhabitants to ensure conformity with laws and values. Generally, this is well-intentioned and respectful, yet visitors to a lawful light world might nevertheless experience uncomfortable inspections, questioning, and lectures on local laws and customs to ensure they don’t upset the peace. Whether welcomed or watched warily, visitors are expected to conform.

Most citizens in a lawful light society are proud, considering themselves blessed, virtuous, or morally just. This can make these worlds difficult for strangers to feel at home. The inhabitants often consider chaotic visitors flighty, immature, untrustworthy, or troublesome. They consider neutral visitors lacking in determination. They consider evil visitors cruel and selfish, and although these travelers might receive mere reprimand for any villainy, most lawful light societies can quickly mobilize to imprison, punish, or chase away true threats.

Neutral Light

A neutral light society is benevolent and encourages its citizens to do the right thing, help others, and cooperate, but doesn’t force them to conform, uphold this mandate, or feel pressured to sacrifice their own wellbeing for others. Laws aim to make life comfortable for citizens and punish harmful behavior, not codify virtue. Neutral light societies police their inhabitants lightly. Reform and community service are often fair punishment for minor crimes.

Neutral light societies are typically diverse. They may be a cultural melting pot, a refuge for those fleeing oppression, or a fledgling colony whose survival depends on cooperation and tight community bonds. Their citizens might be trying to establish a better way of life, might consider their neighbors family, or might simply be trying to live their lives in peace. Visitors receive a warm welcome, whatever their appearance, creed, or history. All are judged by their deeds, not their reputation or place of origin. Such societies are an often a safe destination for refugees and exiles.

For all their neighborly and generally content status, these societies should be aware that there’s room for improvement to make things better for all. They have little patience for self-righteousness, prejudice, oppression, or rebellion. They’re willing to settle most disputes among themselves, rather than requesting intervention from authority figures or law-enforcement. When confronted by those in positions of authority, members of neutral light societies are most likely to rely on collective decision-making and mutually beneficial ideals passed on through social norms. They likely consider lawful visitors rigid and close-minded, chaotic visitors impatient and unreliable, and evil visitors cruel, perhaps even a danger to themselves and others.

Chaotic Light

A chaotic light society is constantly changing, though it remains focused on doing what’s right regardless of the repercussions. It’s flexible, capable of rapidly adapting to changing environments and situations, and willing to break rules for the greater good. Its citizens are fiercely independent, valuing freedom and resenting attempts to control or limit them. As a downside, these societies sometimes overextend themselves or act without acknowledging the full ramifications of their actions.

The society might be a vibrant democracy, a fractured collective of provinces vying for dominance, or an egalitarian community rallying against oppressors. Its citizens might be daring survivors fighting for their lives, activists spreading progressive ideologies, freedom fighters determined to abolish galactic slavery, or innovative intellectuals creating new methods to better their world. Innovators and iconoclasts, like adventurers and explorers, often find themselves welcome in these cultures. Leadership often incorporates many voices, with no one person retaining long term control. When powerful leaders arise, they’re often charismatic visionaries who lead by example.

These societies uphold accepted values but have few codified laws. Its citizens might condone vigilante justice, solve disputes among themselves, or have courts that pass judgment via popular opinion or democratic vote.

Most citizens in a chaotic light society are confident and outspoken, considering themselves good people living independent lives free from oppression and corruption. They likely consider lawful visitors boring, old-fashioned, and overbearing. They consider neutral visitors in need of encouragement and guidance, and exhibit little restraint when given a chance to offer either. They consider evil visitors in need of reform or punishment and watch them carefully for signs of ill-intent.

Lawful Balanced

A lawful balanced society is ordered and dependable, with consistent social customs, codified laws, processes for arbitrating disputes, and repercussions for breaking laws and taboos. Its citizens respect and embrace authority. In a lawful balanced society, reason and order are valued over emotion, morality, and personal expression.

A lawful balanced society might be a tightly controlled utopia or dystopia, a bastion of enlightenment and education where rational thought outweighs emotion, a corporate plutocracy, or a monarchy with traditions dating back millennia. Its citizens may be innovators pushing the boundaries of science or magic, colonists trying to tame the wilderness, or laborers working to get by. Stability is often more important than transparency, which may result in governments keeping secrets from their citizens.

These societies are typically peaceful and predictable. They might be overburdened with excessive laws or a model of streamlined efficiency. Citizens understand their laws and lives aren’t perfect but prefer them to the alternative, believing order is the only thing holding society together. Most citizens know their role in society, follow the rules, and find comfort in safety and routine.

Lawful balanced societies often monitor their citizens and visitors closely, staying alert for lawbreakers and corruption. Imprisonment, labor, and fines are common punishments meted out to criminals after judgment is passed, dependent on local customs.

Citizens in a lawful balanced society often get along well with other lawful-aligned visitors, who typically respect that society’s strictures, though they consider both groups overly judgmental. They consider good visitors naïve and evil visitors cutthroat. Chaotic visitors are likely considered corrupt, lawless, and unreliable.

Neutral Balanced

A neutral balanced society is slow to unite and difficult to sway. Although some are committed to balance, political neutrality, unbiased reason, or other philosophical ideals, most simply exist, expending their energy to carry on or maintain the status quo without any particular inclination to conform or grow toward a specific ideal. Its citizens might prefer good to evil or law to chaos, but they don’t go out of their way to uphold or impose these values. A neutral balanced society’s citizens likely care more for themselves and their families than they do their neighbors or the world at large, and most consider distant or future problems of little consequence unless they pose a tangible threat. Alternatively, a neutral balanced world might be occupied by creatures that act purely on instinct or programmed behavior, such as animals, plants, or constructs.

A neutral balanced society might be a nature preserve, a holographic or illusory construct, a preprogrammed world of droids, a settlement unconcerned with the outside world, or a loose affiliation of farmers who rely on each other for support. Its citizens might be an insular cloister of esoterics contemplating life, a gathering of those trying to survive in a hostile environment, or people just trying to feed their families and care for themselves.

Neutral balanced societies are often natural meeting places and trade hubs, as they’re largely unconcerned with visitors. Many have simple laws based off common sense and the preservation of society. Visitors to a neutral balanced world can disappear easily, making these planets popular among criminals or revolutionaries looking to lay low. Most citizens in a neutral balanced society are self-interested and passive, considering other people’s problems none of their concern. Most consider visitors bossy and nosy, especially on moral matters.

Chaotic Balanced

A chaotic balanced society is unstable and unpredictable. It features few codified rules and little to no governing body, instead being ruled by whatever groups or individuals have the most power at any given time. Often, these lawless societies divide into factions vying for power, though even these alliances and coalitions might fragment suddenly based on evolving circumstances. Its citizens resent authority and any attempts to control them. If forced into obedience, many citizens seize their first opportunity to escape, lash out, or turn on their oppressors. These unpredictable elements thus make many chaotic balanced societies dangerous.

Chaotic balanced societies value adaptability, creativity, and spontaneity. A chaotic balanced society might be a smuggler’s paradise, a blasted wasteland where gangs hold sway, a boomtown on a resource-rich frontier, a refuge for artistic iconoclasts evading retaliation from the tyrants they mock, or a hot spot for reckless youths and daredevils. Its citizens are opportunistic and often care more for themselves, their interests, and their holdings than they do for their neighbors or surroundings. They may be angry anarchists, greedy criminals, fast-talking swindlers, or unashamed opportunists out to have fun and strike it rich. In other chaotic balanced societies, though, inhabitants are less interested in lawlessness than they are dedicated to their group’s freedom from others’ hegemony and dogma, making this an ideal alignment for cultures purposefully living off the galactic grid.

Chaotic balanced societies typically don’t monitor their citizens or visitors. Their citizens must protect themselves or find someone stronger to protect them, often in exchange for services or credits. Inhabitants keep their word only as long as it benefits them. They do what they want and rarely regret it. Their opinions on visitors are incredibly varied, though most consider lawful visitors a pain, good visitors gullible or preachy, and evil visitors unnecessarily cruel and violent.

Lawful Dark

A lawful dark society is rigid, ordered, and often oppressive, benefiting those who best know how to maneuver, manipulate, and wield the society’s laws, hierarchies, and traditions for their own benefit. Its citizens believe in the rule of law and take pride in using it to get what they want, regardless of whom it might hurt. In a lawful dark society, loyalty, profit, tradition, and order are valued over dignity, freedom, and even lives. In times of turmoil and tragedy, lawful dark societies stand firm, recovering quickly and rarely falling to chaos.

Many lawful dark societies wield their laws as weapons and use them to justify cruelty, oppression, violence, and other heinous acts. They may argue their despicable behavior is honorable, for the greater good, for the welfare of their people, or to the benefit of those they oppress. Some regimes delight in causing pain, spreading terror, or displaying power. A lawful dark society may be an expansionist military dictatorship, an oligarchy ruled by devious tyrants, or an oppressive bureaucracy where barristers hold more power than emperors. Its citizens may be social climbers manipulating their way to the upper echelons of society, despicable slavers, or loyal soldiers serving remorseless masters.

Lawful dark societies tightly monitor, police, and punish their citizens and visitors. Many citizens are capable of wielding the law for their own ends, in an underhanded but entirely legal manner. Most do this for their own financial or social betterment, to tear down their competitors, to punish those who offend them, to prove their abilities to superiors, or even just for their own sadistic entertainment.

Most citizens of a lawful dark society are greedy, selfish, and power-hungry. They consider themselves cunning and superior to those around them. They often consider good visitors deluded, neutral visitors lazy, and chaotic visitors insufferable or a threat to their way of life.

Neutral Dark

A neutral evil society is amoral, dangerous, and utterly without remorse. Most are loosely governed or corrupt, espousing rules that are regularly broken. Its citizens have little respect for authority or order, routinely flouting laws and ignoring boundaries. Many are selfish and lack empathy. In a neutral evil society, lives and vows have little value.

A neutral evil society might be a dangerous haven for criminals where any service is for sale, a proving ground where the cunning rise to power, or a prison as corrupt as its inhabitants. Its citizens might be opportunistic bounty hunters, blood-soaked gladiators, vile cannibals, or unethical scientists who develop and test magic or weapons on unwilling subjects. While some of these societies are purposefully sadistic, others become neutral evil as a result of hardship and trauma, with selfish actions being the only means for survival in a cruel galaxy.

Neutral evil societies are typically aggressive and opportunistic, capable of a wide variety of evil acts. Alliances last only as long as they’re beneficial. Most neutral evil societies make enemies regularly.

Some neutral evil societies monitor their citizens, visitors, and enemies, while others pay them little attention. Visitors are often unofficially assessed for their usefulness, either by the society or its citizens. Visitors who might prove useful are often embraced and utilized, while those who don’t are ignored or targeted.

Most citizens of a neutral evil society consider themselves free to do whatever they want, whenever they want. They regard visitors in terms of their utility and are willing to ignore flaws and differing opinions as long as those visitors might be of use to them. They often judge visitors based on behavior they’ve witnessed rather than on stated beliefs or morality.

Chaotic Dark

A chaotic dark society is dangerous and unpredictable. It has few laws or governing bodies, instead being controlled by whoever can wield the most power or inspire the most fear. Many chaotic dark societies are overseen by a variety of powerful groups or individuals who have found tentative equilibrium, though how much control each has is constantly in flux. Individuals and groups in positions of power change rapidly as they’re toppled, betrayed, or overthrown by their underlings or enemies. A chaotic dark society primarily respects cruelty and power. While much of their violence is internecine, these societies often project their aggression outward through raiding, pillaging, and conquest.

Citizens from a chaotic dark society are often driven by greed, hate, lust for power, or a love of inflicting pain. They’re often brutal and unpredictable, having no qualms about betraying even their closest allies. They lash out at anyone who attempts to control or restrain them, though many must rein in these urges against more powerful adversaries.

A chaotic dark society might be a terrifying military powerhouse ruled by a bloodthirsty tyrant, a coalition of gangs locked in a tenuous equilibrium until one can seize control, an anarchic metropolis where every citizen struggles for survival, or a cutthroat kleptocracy hiding behind a veneer of legitimacy. Its citizens might be bloodthirsty berserkers or Force wielders who aim their aggression at outside enemies, criminals who prey on each other as often as they’re preyed upon, anarchists intent on tearing down governments throughout the galaxy, or Dark Side-worshiping cultists who yearn to spread pain and misery. Chaotic dark societies don’t usually monitor their citizens or control who visits them, but most citizens consider visitors to be either future adversaries to confront or victims to oppress.

Force

Ever present, though often unnoticed by the uninitiated, the Force is everywhere. It flows through all living things, surrounds and penetrates that which is not alive. The Force defies attempts to understand it through purely material means: to think of it merely as an extension of midi-chlorian symbiotes is reductive, and ignores the apparent will the Force sometimes exerts. Rather, the Force is perhaps best understood by the myriad peoples, mystics, and organizations that have studied it for millenia. The extent to which the people of a planet understand and use the Force is an important aspect to consider in creating a world.

While the Force exists throughout the cosmos, awareness of it various widely. In one species, Force sensitivity only appears once in a generation, most never finding their full potential without any to guide them. Another might regularly see powerful Force wielders, society relying on them as chosen prophets or leaders. Some peoples have whole societies who rely regularly on the Force, its presence such an integral part of their world's fabric that they cannot conceive of those without it.

Among those that do recognize the Force, there are endless understandings of it. Some of the most common concepts associated with it - Light and Dark, the Cosmic Force and the Living Force - originate from the Jedi Order and its Sith counterpart. But nearly every people has their own belief system surrounding the Force. To some, it is magic, and those who manipulate it are witches and sorcerers, capable of great and terrible feats. To others, it is a guiding principle, a lens through which to see the future or seek guidance. The Force may be seen as a divine being, personified as a deity or great spirit, or even a demonic entity. A culture may simply see the Force as an aspect of life, practical to understand but no more mystical or worthy or adoration than gravity or genetics.

Manipulation of the Force may likewise vary between places. In much of the Unknown Regions, Force sensitives are employed as hyperspace navigators, their foresight vital to practical hyperspace travel. Such visions may also be used to guide the fates and decisions of whole societies, putting Force sensitives in high positions are valued advisors or even rulers. Manipulating the Force through powers could be seen as a favored blessing to stoke and train, or the sign of curse to be silenced.

Low Force

A society might be low Force for many reasons. Perhaps midi-chlorians don't naturally develop symbiosis with a planet's particular lifeforms, leaving an absence of Force attunement. Certain biomes might be naturally repellent of the Force, with creatures like ysalamari that dispel it.

For some low Force societies, culture limits usage of the Force. Past catastrophes could instill fear that lasts generations, even becoming incorporated into a society’s laws and legends as a forbidden art. Religious dogma might have demonized the Force long ago, and a low Force world might have only recently rediscovered ancient traditions.

Whatever the case, a world’s inhabitants likely consider the Force some combination of alien, fascinating, and frightening. Visitors with Force abilities might find themselves in trouble for using it.

Use of the Force could also be a tradition so prestigious that it’s closely guarded by elites. Alternatively, the Force might be considered so hazardous or corrupting that the society recruits pariahs to train in service to the comparably pure populace.

No matter how widespread knowledge of the Force is, though, there’s inevitably someone willing, able, or conscripted to practice it. This control can stem from authorities — whether the government, the priesthood, or otherwise — such as an ancient, traditional order of witch hunters or wizards who hoard these powers. Any of these groups might suppress Force sensitives; these places make obvious targets for dissidents who want to make the Force free, resulting in a conflict like a cold war, a secret insurgency, or an open rebellion.

High Force Adventure Hooks

Medium Force Adventure Hooks

Low Force Adventure Hooks

Technology

The hum of machinery on a factory floor. The gentle whirring of fans inside a computer. Even the flint and steel used to spark a world’s first campfire represents a species’ drive to create something new and harness power. Unlike the spontaneity of magic, technology arises systematically through invention and necessity; each step builds from what came before to overcome the next available obstacle, eventually allowing engineers to reach the stars and infinite worlds beyond. From manufacturing to computing to simply staying warm at night, each culture takes its own path toward greater and greater technological solutions.

Technology is as diverse as those who make it. Just as each culture has its needs and wants, so will each culture’s technologies be distinct and unique to that society. One species might not need fast transportation and thus never develops wheeled carts, instead innovating extraordinary communication technology that spans distances faster than any mundane conveyance. Plantlike species who drink energy from their sun might readily develop solar power as an extension of their own physiology, yet they might have nearly nonexistent agricultural technologies compared to herbivorous species’ farms. Beings capable of projecting destructive energies at great range might master metallurgical skills while never once thinking to develop weapons.

Keep in mind that a high-technology attribute need not always manifest as spaceships and lasers. After all, what desire does a culture have to brave the vacuum of space when its home planet accommodates its every need, which spares its residents’ creative energy to develop technologically peerless art or synthetic companions with which to share its utopia?

Technology levels often aren’t uniform within a single society, much less across an entire planet, and tempting as it might be to paint entire worlds as a monolith, variety sparks countless narratives. Oligarchic systems could restrict technologies to specific social strata, with wealthy elites enjoying wildly different devices than the everyday populace. A biologically cosmopolitan society might include some species that disdain specific technologies, while other inhabitants rely on certain tools for their survival—even creating devices that are incompatible with other species’ anatomy or lifestyles. Vastly different biomes across a planet can require an assortment of technologies, and geographic barriers might have separated societies that have simply never contacted each other or haven’t traded innovations much after discovering different civilizations. Viewed another way, technological diversity can translate to starkly different tech levels for various technologies; certain devices could exceed even the Pact Worlds’ capabilities while the surrounding culture lacks other commonplace implements.

No matter a culture’s technology, there are three essential takeaways. First, technology often falls into one of three broad categories—high, medium, and low—addressed in the following pages. Second, even though technological development often follows fairly predictable paths, technological development isn’t strictly linear, instead reflecting a society’s needs and values. Third, technology isn’t shorthand for civilization or sophistication, even for the most mechanically adept or technologically rudimentary societies. With these foundations in place, you’re ready to mix and match countless tech levels to create a wide range of wondrous worlds (all the more so when combined with accord, alignment, and Force attributes)!

Medium Technology

Cultures with a medium-technology attribute have taken important steps in their scientific development. They might exhibit powerful technology in particular areas yet lag behind high-technology worlds in most other disciplines. Citizens of medium-technology worlds can expect their basic needs to be answered via scientific and technological means. These worlds also might be capable of staffed or entirely automated space travel, but would rarely have access to hyperdrive technology. Worlds of medium technology have mostly, if not entirely, analog and archaic weapons and limited access to technological items.

One of the most spectacular advances for medium-technology societies isn’t flashy—it’s sanitation. Sophisticated sewage and medical care help inhabitants live longer and limit disease, and the resulting increase to lifespans allow more time for leisure, art, and learning that drive subsequent innovations. As a result, medical capabilities present a common benchmark for this attribute—at least for ecosystems where medical care is a vital need.

After medicine, consider a world’s other threats and limitations, as many medium-technology societies endeavor to overcome these factors: deadly weather, hazardous terrain, and voracious animals; such immediate dangers necessitate sophisticated shelters, inventive transportation, armaments for self-defense, or barriers built on a massive scale. Other goals are more aspirational, like developing more productive agriculture and devising new techniques for procuring essential resources. These factors uphold a very human perspective; nonhuman cultures might have vastly different goals than mere safety and material needs, such as creating esoteric technology strictly for artistic ends or designing massive infrastructure to channel telepathic communication. Always think beyond Earth-like concepts when creating your strangest worlds.

Consider inventors’ physiologies and needs. Would a quadruped species intuitively build land vehicles if they naturally evolved for running and sprinting? Would a species that filter feeds invest in agriculture or culinary arts? How might a species with 360-degree vision approach photography or visual arts? While some technologies are universally helpful, what one species deems vital another might find a novelty. These differences distinguish cultures of similar sophistication without presuming one as more advanced than another.

Low Technology

A low-technology attribute conveys limited technological development—anything from early stone and metal tools to rudimentary mechanization and early electrification. Sciences such as medicine and physics are likely fairly early in their development, and lower tech often introduces challenges to building and maintaining larger urban centers and empires alike.

From a high-technology society’s perspective, it can be easy to assume low-technology inhabitants are somehow intellectually inferior, yet this reasoning is harmful, dismissive, and inaccurate. There are numerous reasons a low-technology attribute might manifest. The simplest reason is that a society is young and hasn’t had time to develop beyond basic machinery; millennia later, the population might achieve or even surpass the standards of current high-tech life. Relatively older societies could lack key resources, stymieing their growth, such as how an alternate Earth without fossil fuels would struggle to power its Industrial Revolution. Environmental conditions might inhibit certain technologies, such as a planet exposed to intermittent EMP bursts that devastate any attempts at developing electronics. Physiology could also limit technological development; for example, the lack of dexterous prehensile appendages (or a suitable substitute, such as precision telekinesis) could inhibit all but basic tool creation regardless of a culture’s innovative potential.

The above ideas assume inhabitants even aspire to higher technology levels. A civilization might possess extraordinary intelligence and sophistication while also upholding taboos against certain technologies. These attitudes might arise from reliance on magic. A high-magic attribute could fulfill most needs of a world’s inhabitants, so necessity never drives mechanical innovation; or, perhaps, an oppressive government disdains technology to preserve an arcane ruling class’s hegemony. Technophobia could arise from the ashes of a once-industrialized society laid to waste by warfare or natural disaster, with legends of machinists’ hubris haunting the survivors generations later. In each of these later examples, lowtech societies remain cognizant of technological developments yet rarely pursue them. Alien visitors who expect low-tech worlds to accept their futuristic inventions with open arms might be surprised to find the inhabitants violently rebuking these forbidden offworld devices

Advanced technology often relies on batteries and ammunition, which can prove difficult to recharge on worlds without power outlets. This limitation makes exploring low-tech worlds—especially if the PCs crash-land there—an exciting challenge, where survival skills and mastering less familiar technology becomes as perilous as any predator. Not only might the PCs need to secure the means to return home, but they might have to do so while shielding their wreckage or even their presence from the planet’s curious inhabitants.

Above all, a low-technology attribute is never the product of inhabitants being wrong or imperfect, merely different. The galaxy’s an extraordinary and diverse place, and every planet, no matter its technology, is full of surprises

High Technology Adventure Hooks

Medium Technology Adventure Hooks

Ventures

Feats

Force Powers

Tech Powers

Maneuvers

Items

Building a Colony

As a civilization grows, its denizens might seek out more resources and greater challenges in the stars. A world has finite space to live on, so a technologically advanced society might look upward and outward to avoid overpopulation. Others must find a new place to live because of global disaster or simple—and shortsighted—pollution of the atmosphere.

Even when a suitable planet is discovered, it can take a long time for settlers to reach it; faster-than-light travel means a far-off colony might be only weeks away, but preparation can take months or years. The brave explorers who build a new life for themselves on these remote worlds must be self-sufficient, though they might sometimes receive aid from other nearby colonys. Unforeseen events can wipe out a colony altogether, but if the people thrive, they can grow into a powerful political entity.

In the SW5e RPG, the Colony Development system represents the effort to land on a world, build a home, and develop it to accommodate thousands of citizens. Use this system when the PCs act as administrators of a colony (usually granted to them by a government or corporation) to establish in an area otherwise devoid of sapient life, such as a planet or moon. With this system, the PCs make decisions that grow the colony and guide its development. Will they succeed? Or will the citizens oust them when unrest grows too high?

Patron Types

Step 3: Choose Initial Focus

As you administer according to your colony’s needs, you direct how it expands and choose the major projects undertaken by its citizens. However, the first few weeks after touching down on a planet’s surface are crucial to a colony’s survival. Decide on your initial focus during this early period, selecting one of the focuses listed below and applying the listed adjustments to your colony trait scores. Your choice of initial focus doesn’t restrict your future choices or the projects you pursue during colony turns; it represents only your colony’s initial emphasis when your PCs and the citizens they brought with them hit the ground for the first time.

STEP 4: FINALIZE TRAIT SCORES

Finalize your colony’s trait scores by adding +1 to two different traits.

STEP 5: ESTABLISH FIRST SETTLEMENT

The first settlement of your colony can be placed in any hex on the planet (subject to GM approval) that you have reconnoitered and in which you’ve defeated all significant encounters. Some projects can only be undertaken in hexes with a specific terrain; review the list of colony projects and plan accordingly!

STEP 6: RECORD colony DETAILS

Record your colony’s trait scores on the Colony Development sheet. Additional details are listed below, including your colony’s size, which is a single hex at this stage. The GM might give you a choice of hexes to pick from for your initial settlement, assign you a specific hex, or allow you to pick anywhere on the map.

• Your colony’s size is 1.
• Your Settlement Die is a d6.
• The maximum item rarity your colony can provide is Premium.
• Your Unrest score is 0.

USING THE MAP

Every colony needs a hex map, probably provided by your GM. Hexes on a map are usually associated with one of the following terrain types: aquatic, desert, forest, hill, marsh, mountain, or plains. Your settlement begins in a single hex, assigned by the GM or chosen from a number of possible landing sites. Mark your initial settlement on the map. As your colony grows, you’ll claim hexes, build projects, and add settlements, and you should track this expansion on your map. Sometimes your colony will lose one or more hexes, typically due to Unrest or because you chose to abandon the hex. When you lose a hex, you lose any projects or settlements assigned to it, so remove them from your map.

RUNNING A colony

Running a colony plays out as month-long “colony turns.” Each turn consists of three phases: Upkeep, Projects, and Event. A colony turn plays out at the end of each in-game month after all other adventures and missions have been resolved.

During this month, one PC must take the week-long downtime activity Perform Administrative Duties. The PC who takes this activity can change from month to month, and that PC can perform other downtime activities as time allows. Perform Administrative Duties follows the same rules as other downtime activities. If no PC takes this downtime activity, the colony skips the Resource Collection and Choose Projects steps of the colony turn. A colony without Resource Units (RU) likely gains Unrest and is especially vulnerable to events.

Other downtime activities can be taken to assist the colony; see colony Downtime Activities for downtime activities related to colonies. A character taking a colony downtime activity—including Perform Administrative Duties—must be physically present in the colony while the performing the activity, and these activities are all resolved during the Upkeep phase of the colony turn.

STEP 1: CHOOSE PROJECTS

Select up to two colony projects, one of which can be an advanced project. You can choose any projects with listed prerequisites met by your colony. (Note: such prerequisites include Traits and Requirements as listed in the Projects.) Then, spend the listed amount of Resource Units. You can’t choose a project for which you don’t have enough Resource Units. Finally, adjust your colony’s trait scores as indicated in each project’s entry, and make any other changes to your colony’s details as indicated.

EVENT PHASE

In the Event phase, a random event might affect your colony or a single settlement or hex within your colony.

EVENTS

Every turn, there’s a chance your colony will have an event, such as a natural disaster or the discovery of corruption within the government. Whether or not your citizens and infrastructure are prepared for these random occurrences depends on what your administration has focused on. At the GM’s discretion, an event can lead to deeper adventure opportunities beyond the colony development system.

COLONY PROJECTS

Colony projects are divided into basic projects (see below) and advanced projects (see pages 7-8). Every project has one or more prerequisites and a Resource Unit cost. Your colony must fulfill these prerequisites and pay this cost to select the project. Requirements for basic projects are relatively easy, such as exploring or claiming a given hex, but advanced projects require your colony to have one or more minimum colony trait scores, and some projects require your colony to have already completed one or more other projects.

ADVANCED PROJECTS

The advanced projects listed in the table on page 8 and described on pages 9-10 require a colony to meet certain trait requirements.

READING THE TABLE

Traits: Your colony must have the listed minimum traits before you can undertake the project.

Requirements: Sometimes finishing a project requires you to have already completed a different project or to place your project in a specific hex. A few requirements are especially common.

• Colony: You can only construct this project once for any given colony, and you gain its benefits as long as the colony exists.
• Hex: You must place this project in a hex you’ve claimed that contains no other project or settlement. If the hex must be a given terrain type, that terrain is listed here.
• Settlement: You must place this project in one of your settlements; a settlement can contain any number of settlement projects.
• Cost: This project costs the listed amount of Resource Units Benefit: Most projects increase one or more traits. A few grant special benefits described in the project’s entry

Advanced Projects

Restaurant Quarter

You set aside part of a settlement for restaurants and other dining facilities.

Retreat

You build a small studio for a Force-sensitive teacher to guide others in meditation.

Road

You construct travel routes to make movement within your colony easier. A road can be placed in any hex you control that doesn’t already have a settlement or a road; projects with the “hex” requirement can be built in a hex with a road, provided that’s the only other project in that hex. Roads reduce travel times by half.

Satellite Launch System

You construct a launch system to put communication and observation satellites in orbit.

School

You construct a learning institution for young students.

Shopping Center

You build a marketplace, trading post, or mall.

Space Elevator

You construct a massive space elevator linked to the planet’s surface in the chosen hex.

Spaceport

You construct landing pads and other facilities for starships. The hex must be adjacent to a settlement.

Temple of the Force

You invite an order of Force monks to build a large temple facility in your colony. Select a single hex for the temple; that hex can't contain a settlement or other project.

Terraform

Choose a single hex you control; change the terrain in that hex to one of: aquatic, desert, forest, hill, marsh, mountain, or plains.

Trade Deal

You establish an economic deal with another political entity (such as a friendly or even rival colony) to trade goods and services. Once per Colony Turn, you can reroll 1 Settlement Die. You can perform this project multiple times, but you can have only one trade deal with a given political entity.

University

You sponsor an institution of higher learning. The chosen settlement must have a school.

Upgraded Resource Node

Select a single resource node in your colony and improve its Resource Die to a d6 for as long as you control the hex.

Visionary

Force mystics divine the future for your colony. You can choose to spend 5 Resource Units during the Upkeep phase to roll your Event Phase immediately. The effects of the event don’t occur until the Event Phase.

Waste Disposal

You establish a safe method for settlements and industry to dispose of waste.

Waterfront

You build docks for transporting goods over water. The selected hex must be aquatic terrain or adjacent to it.

Zoological Park

You build a zoo or aquarium for interesting animals.

COLONY DOWNTIME ACTIVITIES

The following colony downtime activities use the rules for downtime activities presented in Wretched Hives; each one takes a week of time due to their complexity.

ASSUAGE UNREST

You spread goodwill and mollify criticism. You spend a week traveling through your colony, talking to people and dealing with their problems, or holding a festival or party to boost morale.

Resources

Spend Resource Units equal to your colony’s size divided by 5 (round down, minimum 1).

Resolution

After one workweek, the character makes a Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Performance) check, with a +1 bonus per Resource Unit spent beyond the initial amount, up to a maximum bonus of +5. The character than consults the Assuage Unrest Roll Modifier Table below.

Assuage Unrest Roll Modifier

Ability Check DC	d100 Roll Modifier
10	+5
15	+10
20	+15
25	+20
30	+25

The d100 Roll Modifier is added to the percentile dice rolled for the Assuage Unrest Results table, which is discussed below.

Once the player has determined their assuage unrest roll modifier, they then roll the percentile die and consult the Assuage Unrest Results table below.

d100	Results
50 or lower	You fail to reduce unrest in your colony.
51-60	You fail to reduce unrest in your colony, but manage to stem the tide. It will not increase this Colony Turn.
61-100	You reduce your colony's unrest by 1d4.
101-110	You reduce your colony's unrest by 1d4+1.
111 or higher	You reduce your colony's unrest by 1d4+2.

Complications

Managing a colony's unrest is delicate work, and a public faux pax can easily worsen the situation. Each workweek spent assuaging unrest brings a 10 percent change of triggering a complication.

This is a great opportunity to create a rival to the party, or involve a previous rival.

Assuage Unrest Complications

d6	Complication
1	The populace considers your use of time & resources on this attempt an extravagant waste. Unrest increases by 1.
2	You make a very public faux pax & embarrass yourself, making you the laughingstock in the colony for a time.
3	A particularly vociferous interest group is upset by your approach to this situation & begins targeting you with a public smear campaign.
4	A notable person of repute in the colony - such as a noble or wealthy industrialist - is convinced you're a public nuisance & vows to have you replaced.
5	In your attempt to calm the colony, you made promises to a certain interest group that you're almost certain you can't keep.
6	The messenger of a local crime lord informs you they're very impressed with your work, though you have no idea exactly what you did to sway them.

BOLSTER TRAIT

You prepare your colony for trouble to come. You spend a week focusing on one aspect of your colony.

PERFORM ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES

You perform the basic administrative functions required to maintain your colony. You spend a week reading reports, meeting with advisors, and drawing up plans for future projects the colony will undertake.